One in Adelphi, Maryland, one in Wildwood, Florida, one at the US National Arboretum with a grandfatherly interest in many more around the DC area (unless noted, pictures are taken the day of post)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Adonis amurensis...boy there are a lot of yellow ranunculaceae with radially symmetical flowers that bloom before everything else

This one is the best though. Actually I'm beginning to regret planting Winter Aconite, Eranthis hyemalis, and whatever other Eranthis I've planted. They do flower early, but they don't have the wonderful dicentra-like foliage of Adonis. Actually they feel a bit weedy.I don't know. Even more confusing to me is the fact that I'm pretty fond of just the plain old Common Buttercup, Ranunculus acris ? It's a bit weedy but cheerful.

Plants in the ranunculaceae, buttercup family, are pretty generally unpalatable to deer so that's a plus. Since 1992, the Adonis pictured, in the Asian Collections, has gone from, as I recall, three small plants to a few large clumps, a handful of small plants, and, dozens of seedlings. It seems to me that most of the seedlings are last year's. We had abundant moisture all last season so it was a good year for germination. Pheasant's Eye is easily grown in decent soil in the dappled shade of an open woodland. The foliage does go dormant with the advent of warm weather, but if sited carefully, this can almost be a god thing.

About Me

I am the horticulturist for the Asian Collections at the US National Arboretum. Before entering public horticulture, I designed garden locally. Karen and I garden at our houses in Adelphi, Maryland and Wildwood, Florida. I'm nearing retirement and adjusting to the idea of leaving my gardens in Adelphi and at the Arboretum.